Letter To John Conyers, Commitee On The Judiciary

Letter

Congressman Steve King, after meeting yesterday with House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, today sent Chairman Conyers the following letter. King met privately with Conyers on September 22 and 29 to discuss the possibility of a Congressional investigation of ACORN. King's letter follows:

September 30, 2009

The Honorable John Conyers

Committee on the Judiciary

2138 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Conyers,

Pursuant to our public and private discourse, I submit to you my second formal request for full Judiciary Committee hearings and a complete and comprehensive investigation into the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) and its affiliates. As Members of Congress and representatives of the American people, we have a constitutional, moral, and ethical duty to investigate ACORN and its affiliates for alleged wrongdoing and criminal activity.

The Judiciary Committee's familiarity with ACORN's criminal activity dates back to at least July 24, 2008, when Cleta Mitchell testified that "ACORN was vandalizing our electoral integrity" before Chairman Jerrold Nadler and the Subcommittee on the Constitution. On March 19, 2009, the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing on "Lessons Learned from the 2008 Election." During this Subcommittee hearing, you asked Chairman Nadler to consider holding a hearing on ACORN, calling these fraudulent voter registrations "a pretty serious matter…something that would be worth our time." On May 4, 2009, CNN's Lou Dobbs reported that you reversed your position on investigating ACORN and quoted you as saying, "Based on my review of the information regarding the complaints against ACORN, I have concluded that a hearing on this matter appears unwarranted at this time." When the Washington Times asked you about a Judiciary Committee investigation into ACORN on June 25 2009, you said, "The powers that be decided against it." While I understand that your relationship and ties to ACORN may be extensive, as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, you have a duty to uphold justice and a duty to hold full Judiciary Committee hearings on ACORN and its affiliates immediately. Your unwillingness to do so is unacceptable to the American people.

In my first letter, sent September 23, 2009, I provided you with a laundry list of criminal activities committed by ACORN and its affiliates. It is clear that ACORN and its affiliates are operating as a criminal enterprise and are involved in illegal and fraudulent activity. On July 23, 2009, Congressman Darrell Issa and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a detailed report on this criminal enterprise and its illegal activities. That same day, July 23, 2009, we discussed the Issa report on the House floor. It was during this discussion that you agreed to review the report, so that we could discuss it in detail the following week. Based on our private discussions, you have not acknowledged Mr. Issa's report on ACORN nor have you acknowledged reading through it--even though I provided you with a copy of the report on Friday, July 24, 2009.

Included in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform report is evidence that ACORN, and its spider web of affiliates, is involved with deliberate and systemic fraud. This report made five solid conclusions:

ACORN has evaded taxes, obstructed justice, engaged in self dealing, and aided and abetted a cover-up of embezzlement by Dale Rathke, the brother of ACORN founder Wade Rathke.

ACORN has committed investment fraud, deprived the public of its right to honest services, and engaged in racketeering enterprise affecting interstate commerce.

ACORN has committed a conspiracy to defraud the United States by using taxpayer funds for partisan political activities

ACORN has submitted false filings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor, in addition to violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

ACORN falsified and concealed facts concerning illegal transactions between related parties in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

As we discussed in our meeting on September 22, 2009, and again on September 29, 2009, we have a duty to protect our constitutional republic from corrupt and criminal organizations like ACORN. As I mentioned, ACORN and its affiliates have admitted to filing over 400,000 false or fraudulent voter registrations in the 2008 election cycle alone. This is a direct threat to the integrity of our election process. Congressional hearings and a complete investigation into ACORN and its affiliates may reveal that fraudulent voter registrations have led to fraudulent votes being cast. For example, we cannot ignore recent reports from Troy, New York that link dozens of forged and fraudulent absentee ballots to the Working Families Party in New York. The Working Families Party has close connections with ACORN's chief organizer, Bertha Lewis.

Because of its rampant voter registration fraud, over the past five years, ACORN has been investigated in at least 19 states. These states include Washington, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Louisiana, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and Nevada. ACORN, as an entity, is currently on trial for widespread criminal activity including corruption and voter registration fraud in Nevada.

As I mentioned in our meeting, we must start congressional hearings at the full committee level. ACORN's criminal activity is not limited to one Subcommittee, but several. The Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties has jurisdiction over the fraudulent voter registrations and potential voter fraud. The Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law has jurisdiction over ACORN's human trafficking, illegal immigration, and potential voter fraud relating to illegal aliens. The Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law has jurisdiction over potential bankruptcy fraud resulting from ACORN's involvement in the shakedown of lenders and advocacy of banks giving bad loans to low-income individuals. The Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security has jurisdiction over ACORN's RICO offenses arising from evidence that ACORN has been involved with fraud, bribery, embezzlement, bankruptcy, and human trafficking.

An overwhelming majority in the House and in the Senate have voted to defund ACORN. The American people want a complete and comprehensive investigation into this criminal enterprise. We cannot ignore ACORN's criminal activity. Time is of the essence--the Judiciary Committee must investigate ACORN and hold congressional hearings immediately. You cannot ignore the corruption that surrounds ACORN, and you cannot deny that congressional hearings and an investigation are warranted at this time. To date, no case has been made by you or your committee members against the compelling obligation for immediate hearings and a comprehensive investigation--to delay is to deny, which is completely objectionable to the American people.

Sincerely,

Steve King

Member of Congress

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